RHH's photos with the keyword: dilatata

These orchids, White Bog Orchids, were photographed in a field of wildflowers in Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone National Park. The wildflowers in the background include lupines, buckwheat, geraniums, daisies and other wildflowers.

These White Bog Orchids were photographed at Brooks Memorial State Park near Goldendale, Washington. We spent part of a day there hiking and looking for wildflowers and orchids as we traveled south to the Columbia River gorge.

The Northern White Bog Orchid is not only very elegant but also very fragrant, growing in boggy mountainous areas all across the west.

Growing in a marshy area in Kootenay National Park, this mix of Bog Orchids is one of our favorite subjects for photography when traveling through that area early in the summer. There are at least three different Bog Orchids here, growing with sedges and other bog plants. The white-flowered plants are one species of Bog Orchid, the green-flowered another species and a hybrid of the white and the green.

On our 2014 trip through the Canadian Rockies we stopped at a favorite site in Kootenay National Park to photograph a field (see inset) of Bog Orchids. These are the Tall White Northern Bog Orchid, very fragrant and at the peak of their blooming. Growing with them were the Green Bog Orchid and a hybrid of the two species, Estes Rein Orchid (see insets).

You can't actually see the bug since he hides in the "spittle" he makes. He is actually a small hopper that encases himself in foam. In this case he has chosen the White Bog Orchid, Platanthera dilatata for his home.

Driving through Kootenay National Park in British Columbia we found and photographed a field of Bog Orchids. These are the Bog Candle, Platanthera dilatata (white), and the Tall Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera huronensis and among therm were also a natural hybrid, one of the green Bog Orchids of the western USA and Canada that are very difficult to identify, in part because they hybridize and intergrade with one another.

Driving through Kootenay National Park in British Columbia we found and photographed a field of Bog Orchids. This one is the Bog Candle, Platanthera dilatata and there were growing with it the Tall Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera huronensis, as well as a natural hybrid, one of the green Bog Orchids of the western USA and Canada that are very difficult to identify, in part because they hybridize and intergrade with one another.

Driving through Kootenay National Park in British Columbia we found and photographed a field of Bog Orchids. This one is the Bog Candle, Platanthera dilatata and there were growing with it the Tall Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera huronensis, as well as a natural hybrid, one of the green Bog Orchids of the western USA and Canada that are very difficult to identify, in part because they hybridize and intergrade with one another (see insets).

While camped at Three Forks, Montana, we did a day trip up the Hyalite Canyon Road southeast of Bozeman. We found several different native orchids near Hyalite Reservoir including this Tall White Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera dilatata var. albiflora.

The Sierra Rein Orchis is Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys or if treated as a separate species, Platanthera leucostachys. If treated as a variety of Platanthera dilatata, it is distinguished by the length of its spur, always noticeably longer than the lip, as is evident in the photo. There are two other varieties of this species, one with a spur much shorter than the lip (var. albiflora) and another with the spur equal in length to the lip (var. dilatata). This variety has been treated as a separate species because the "longer spur indicates greater specialization for a pollinator" (Brown). It is relatively common and in this case was photographed along the Hurricane Ridge Road in Olympic National Park. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-olympics-first-day.html

This is the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata, photographed along the North Cascades Highway near Washington Pass. This orchid, along with the Slender Bog Orchis, Platanthera stricta can be found in abundance along the roadsides of most of the passes in the Cascades. It is sweetly scented and is often found, as this spike of flowers, with the lip caught in the petals and dorsal sepal.

Taken along the Yellowhead Highway between the towns of Blue River and Valemont, this scene is quite typical of the area. There are thousands of bog orchids growing in the ditches and on the banks along the highway, here two species, Platanthera stricta, the Slender Bog Orchis with its green flowers, and Platanthera dilatata, the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis. There are also a few Indian Paintbrush mixed in with the orchids.

Platanthera x estesii, Estes Rein Orchis, is a natural hybrid of the white Platanthera dilatata and the green Platanthera stricta. We found this growing with one of the parents near White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park. The spur (not visible), the color of the flowers and the lip all led to this identification, though the green-flowered Platantheras are notoriously difficult to tell apart.

This is almost certainly Estes Rein Orchis, Platanthera x estesii, a natural hybrid of Platanthera dilatata and Platanthera stricta, photographed along the Yellowhead Highway in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, on a recent trip to Edmonton to see family. This plant was growing in every wet, boggy area along the highway, and though common is nevertheless beautiful with its masses of greenish-white flowers. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/08/p...

In Explore July 13, 2009, #195. Photographed along Highway 5 in British Columbia north of the town of Clearwater and the North Thompson Provincial Park where we found it in scattered groups in the wetter areas along the west side of the highway. In taking photos we discovered also that this orchid is very fragrant with a strong spicy odor.

This is the Bog Candle, very common in our area, but always a delight to see. This photo was taken last year on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. There are three varieties of this species, different only in the length of the spur that sticks out from the back of the lip. These are often found by the thousands in boggy areas and along roadsides where they stand out like candles. They are very fragrant also and the air will be perfumed by them for a long distance near where they are found. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/02/b...

This picture, taken by my wife shows Platanthera dilatata, the Bog Candle, growing along the Yellowhead Highway in Mount Robson Provincial Park. The pictures gives some idea, too, of how ubiquitous this species is in some areas. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/02/b...